Here’s my Harvard Business Review article on why Steve Jobs’s departure will affect the entire consumer electronics industry.

A butterfly flapped its wings in Cupertino…

…And as a direct result, the pace of innovation throughout the world will slow.

Steve Jobs resigned as Apple’s chief executive yesterday, and the entire consumer electronics industry will soon suffer as a result.

Why?

Because all consumer technology companies take their lead from Apple, and Apple made products per Jobs’ direction. Nobody in business — in any industry — has a better honed instinct on what would succeed with consumers than Steve Jobs.

Today’s consumer electronics industry is built largely around copying Apple’s successful products. The iPhone comes out, and within months there are countless copycat touch-screen phones. The iPad? This year alone there will be dozens of competing tablets released, most of which would probably not have seen the light of day if Apple hadn’t blazed the trail. Scores of companies are spending billions of dollars putting out devices that Steve Jobs thought would be successful.

Click here to read the entire piece.